As Days Go By
by Ariadne Black
Summary: Mostly Shikamaru's POV. Post Time Jump. Update: New mission will presented in next chapter. [Slash] [Sex & Mature Content] [Some Violence] [Language] [Rated R] R and R, please.
1. Don't Lose Touch

Author's Note: There will be slash pairings in this, so if you don't support such pairings, don't read it. Also, this is told in the eyes of my all time favorite lazy genius ninja, Nara Shikamaru. I will have my own personal characters here and there. I do not own any of the Naruto characters and terms, the owner of them is the great Kishimoto Masashi.

**Chapter One: Don't Lose Touch**

He sat there and smiled, staring dazedly up at the clouds above him, it was rare lately that he'd have the time to lay back and do what he enjoyed most with all the missions he'd been on as of late. He took in a deep breath and then heaved out a relaxed sigh and returned to gaze at the beautiful sky above. He loved moments like this most, when the sky was a lovely blue against the white clouds and it would almost appear that they were animals or objects in his mind. It was something he loved to do with Chouji, sometimes even Temari, but both were currently on missions and it was just him and the skies above. A frown crept across his lips as the wonderful silence and grace of the moment was broken by an obnoxious ninja and a quiet, but bothered ninja.

"Sasuke-kun, why do you always have to do that!" Naruto yelled, in that cute but frustrated manner that Sasuke adored.

"Because, usuratonkachi, I get reactions like this," Sasuke stated in a low, pleased tone.

The two were closing in on the roof of the building, and he sighed, knowing that he'd be dragged into something quite troublesome. Whether it be an argument or a friendly banter, either way it was not in his favor on the one and rare day off that he finally had. He took in a breath and waited for the slaughter of his day off to come, all he could think of at the moment is how it would be so troublesome to get into any discussion that required any sort of thought at the moment. He watched as their heads surfaced from the stairs to roof, it would not be long before he was seen, so he simply sighed and prepared himself for any sort of discussion that might be brought to him.

"Oi, Shikamaru, no missions? I thought you were on one with Kiba-kun..." Naruto blinked at the lazy genius as he caught sight of him.

"Not today, Naruto... It's a rarity for any of us lately, but I got a day off..." Shikamaru shrugged lightly, continuing to stare up at the clouds.

"Lucky, Naruto and I have a mission in a bit, we were just going to come up here... And err... discuss it," Sasuke spoke with a slight nervousness, it was clear that he was revealing the true intentions of coming up here with his stance.

"Shall I leave you two... alone then, Sasuke?" He asked, with a to-the-point tone and his face stayed nearly emotionless.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other quizzically for a few moments, figuring out whether it was truly worth it before the mission to do such a thing. All Shikamaru could think of was how troublesome the wait for their reply was, even though it'd been only a few minutes. It was almost 5 years since he had become a Jounin level ninja, he'd become a Chuunin before any of the other rookies and had stayed at level for a decent amount of time, Neji had reached Jounin before him and was almost to Special Jounin level. At the moment, yes he could easily go up for that level, but he was far too lazy to put that much effort into anything of that sort, he hardly wanted to be Jounin but Temari insisted that he go for it. He looked at the two before him, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest, he was still waiting for some sort of reply to his question, but still nothing seemed to come out of them.

"Well, you don't need to worry about it, Shikamaru, our mission is too close coming... We should be off to pack up anyway! Sayonara!" Naruto smiled at the lazy genius, waved and trotted off with Sasuke, most likely to their apartment in the center of Konoha.

Shikamaru sighed in relief, he could stay here and stare at the clouds in peace for the rest of the day, or up until Temari came back from her mission. He hated to admit it, because worrying in itself was a troublesome task, but he always worried about her when she was away on missions and he didn't know who was with. He assumed it was one or the other of his, well he hated this too sometimes, brother-in-laws. Both of which he found to be slightly creepy, more-so Kankurou than Gaara, simply or mainly rather because of those puppets he had. He had no problems with either of them, or their girlfriends either, all of them were perfectly wonderful people. Kankurou had been involved with a girl from the famed Nakamura clan here in Konoha, her name is Misa, she was a bit hyper and somewhat clingy, but one of the best kunoichi he'd met. She'd been on Team 14 during his Genin days, with Hateru Makuniri and Kira Kurosaki, they were one of the rookie teams that followed Gai's example and waited a year before proceeding onto Chuunin. Their sensei was Kyoko Masuda, she is and was much like a weird combination of Kakashi and Asuma, he hadn't talked to her much originally. She was also one of the youngest Jounins to have a Genin squad and also one of the few to have a medical ninja on it, he was part of the Makuniri clan, a clan famed for their medical abilities. She was also one the few Jounins to get ahold of 3 shinobi from clans, Asuma seemed to be one of the only other ones to get ahold of shinobi with famed clan names singularly.

Thinking back to the old days was a bit fun for the moment, he hadn't seen any of those three in awhile now, he sort of missed them. He figured he should pay them a visit or something sometime soon, as they were from the same village as he was, it would not be hard to find any of them. Both the Kurosaki and the Nakamura clans are fair with weaponry, though the Nakamure are able to master any weapon almost instantly, the Kurosaki are masters of Elemental techniques. Naruto constantly tried to beat Misa, but never could because everytime he was in hand-to-hand range, she would be able to take him down almost instantaneously, it was thoroughly amusing at the time. He smiled again, staring into the abyssal sky of clouds, which was now starting to become an elegant red and orange mess from the night creeping in. He stood up and hopped from the roof to another, and so on, till he was close to his apartment and he hopped to the ground, nearly taking someone out, falling onto them really.

He stood up, offering a hand, he smiled and dusted himself off, he hardly paid attention for a moment, so the person's face did not quite register at first. The girl before him had her hair up in a ponytail, but it still reached to her midback and it was a deep reddish brown. Her eyes were an interesting tone, a strange hue of blue, dull but not steely and her skin was fair. She did look familiar, but he was not great with names of people he hadn't seen in awhile, but it was clear by her smile she knew who he was almost immediately.

"Shikamaru!" She hugged him tightly, then pressed him away and smiled, "You remember me, right?"

"Errr... Not exactly..." He scratched the back of his head lightly and made a face, he felt kind of bad having knocked over someone who knew him and then when they hug him and such, he doesn't even recall their name.

"It's me, Misa... And Kira is with me, we just got back from our joint mission with a member of Sunagakure!" Misa winked, hinting that Temari would be here in Konoha soon.

"I'm not surprised that he didn't recognize us, Misa-sama... You know how he can be..." A girl who was clearly a bit taller than Misa, who had long black hair about to the small of her back and skin with a bit of color to it. She wore an interesting outfit, similar to regular Jounin garb, but it was altered to support a few styles of blades that were in a curious holster on her back.

"True, you have a point, Kira-sama... He is a bit clueless..." Misa grinned and laughed.

"I was just thinking about you two, well Hateru as well, but how have you guys been?" Now he felt worse, they were some of the coolest kunoichi he knew, and he could hardly recognize them.

"Hateru-kun is most likely off swooning over Kiba or something..." Kira said bluntly and it sounded like it bothered her just a bit,"He was always like that when Team 14 was on any mission, he'd ask why Kiba or Sasuke, or even you for that matter wasn't with us."

"Hee-hee, that is most likely what he is up to... Though isn't he with Neji-kun now?" Misa blinked at Kira.

"I wouldn't be surprised, they met after Neji's first Chuunin exam and they've been quite close since." Kira shrugged,"Can we just clean up and get to Ichiraku? Gaara-sama and Kitty will be here pretty soon and I don't want to be late cause of you, Misa-sama! No offense, Shikamaru, but we promised them some ramen from Ichiraku awhile ago."

"Kira-sama, he hates it when you call him Kitty..." Misa frowned at Kira.

Shikamaru smiled and hugged the two,"It's perfectly fine, I'm supposed to meet Temari soon anyways and if I'm late, you know the drill..." He smiled again and waved, as exciting as reunions were, getting reemed out by Temari for being late was far too troublesome. He did not want it to occur, ever again, as it was not fun and it normally meant a few days without her, and not because of missions of any sort. He sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets and continued onward towards the entrance gate to Konoha, where he normally met Temari after anyone of his or her mission, when he got there he leaned against the wall of the gate and waited.


	2. Sunshine Highway

Author's Note: I do not own Keisuke Yazama, he belongs to my friend Chris! So, yeah... O.o

**Chapter Two: Sunshine Highway**

He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes, he then leaned his head back against the gate's rock wall. He smiled to himself, it had been a few days since he'd seen Temari last, it was always refreshing to him to see her face. It didn't matter what she wore or how she looked, her eyes smiling into him was enough to change the world for him. He just stood there waiting, the breeze against his face and neck, he hardly noticed that she was there and removed the band that held him hair up. He open his eyes to stare into her wonderful eyes, they always seemed to know him thoughts and emotions, he loved that about her. He grinned and she grinned back at him, she then ran her slender fingers through his smooth black hair which when not in a ponytail came to about his shoulders.

"You look a bit tired, love," She said in a smooth, but deep feminine voice, to him it was angelic.

"I could never be tired when you're around, Temari, you should know that by now," He said, sarcasm laced his voice, but he smiled and could tell she knew his humor quite well by now.

"Such a lazy and sarcastic, but horribly and adorably loveable guy you are," She grinned and pressed herself against him,"Where are we gonna eat tonight?"

"Wherever you'd like, darling." He smiled at her and she nibbled his earlobe, he loved the simplicity in such a manuever.

He then took her hand in his, intertwining his fingers among her slender fingers, watching their fingers mingle in the fading light of day. He always loved to see her when she came back from any mission, he loved the comfort and warmth of her body near or against him, it was almost relaxing. To him, she was everything, the most important person he'd ever come across. She was his and he loved that, he'd never felt that way for anyone before. It was a relief to him to be in love and, as strange as some find it since he was such a lazy person and still was fairly lazy, that he would put so much effort forward for anything.

"Maybe we should go somewhere... private, love?" Temari grinned again, winking lightly at him, they hadn't seen one another in a couple days and hadn't been intimate in about a week.

He nodded and smiled into her eyes, he pushed his form forward against hers, allowing himself to stand upright. He took the lead, still having her finger entangled among his, walking through the gate, there were a few places they could go, but he prefered his own bed to any other in Konoha when it came to such things. Being with her at any point in time, was a privilege, as well as one of the few things he loved more than laying there and watching clouds til the sun was out of view.

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"Misa-sama, you're such a clutz..." Kira grinned towards her friend, and spoke in a mocking tone.

"Oh, shush, I may be a clutz... But... but... Just shush, Kira-sama!" Misa huffed towards Kira and sighed, it seemed like it was taking forever to get to Ichiraku.

The two reached the Ichiraku Ramen stand shortly after such statement,s they pressed the curtains to the side and took ther seats. It was weird that Gaara-sama and Kankurou-kun had not arrived quite yet, so the two ordered some sake to tide them over while they waited. Not too soon after they each had their first cup and were about to fill the next, their companions sat beside them and poured themselves each a cup. Kira flew into a hug, flinging her arms about Gaara. Misa smiled and leaned on Kankurou's shoulder, nuzzling against him, she was happy to see him after a few days of being away on a mission.

"Kankurou-kun!" Misa smiled happily to him,"Who was on your mission? I know it was a joint mission because of Hokage-sama.."

"Oh, it was myself Keisuke and Sakura-chan, Gaara had a special one with Shino and Hinata." Kankurou petted her hair and smiled back at her.

"Keisuke-kun? I haven't seen him in ages, how is he?" Misa blinked, her tone quizzical.

"He's pretty good, I believe he and Sakura-chan are together..." He took another sip of sake and requested a Shrimp Ramen for two.

"Gaara-sama! How was the mission? You're not normally on the joint ones..." Kira always sounded utterly happy in Gaara's presence.

"I asked to be on this one, it was nothing fancy, I just hadn't been out in awhile." He smiled to Kira and ran his fingers to her hair, then massaged her earlobe, and again returned to stroking her hair.

"Ah, I see," She grinned, nuzzling against him, she requested Mild Dumpling Ramen for two, then loosened her grip about him.

The four fell silent as the selected ramen was set before each couple as desired and then dove in. Misa and Kankurou snuggled, as well as shared their chopsticks with one another, swapping who would feed who as if they were children again. Gaara and Kira simply shared their bowl, staring at each other, eating in silence, but smiling deep into one another's eyes. It seemed almost wild in there with all the silent love among the couples, which was beginning to overwhelm the small ramen stand.

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He yawned and continued on the road to his apartment, he'd just returned from a mission and was feeling more than exhausted. He had almost been forced to use some of his clan's soldier pills on this one, as known by the team he grew up with in his Genin days and many other ninja, it sucks horribly when he has to take them. He pressed some of his shoulder-length light brown hair behind his ear, he couldn't wait to see Neji-kun again, this mission was a 5-day mission. He loathed long missions, they took their toll on him quickly, being a medical ninja meant he was constantly on the field helping out even if ther wasn't much damage to anyone, he just needed to be alert.

"Hateru-kun?..." The voice was familiar to him, but he hadn't looked up from his feet yet to see the person's face.

"Yup, that'd be me..." He finally looked up, it was Hinata, Neji's cousin.

"You look completely worn out, Hateru-kun, need some support getting back to your place?" Hinata offered, smiling.

"Definitely, Hinata-sama!" He smiled lightly, she took his arm over her shoulder and helped him back to his place. The Hyuuga family was great, all of them were completely supportive of him being with Neji-kun, even if it was a bit odd. He couldn't help but ponder what to do when Neji-kun came to his place tonight, he smiled to himself and they continued on to his place.


	3. You Take Me Back

Author's Note: There will be some mature content for this chapter. This is my first real attempt at any kind of real-type love scene for any fanfiction, or writing for that matter. So yeah, get over it! Oh and remember, I'm a single, hopeless romantic... so... ;;

**Chapter Three: You Take Me Back**

She smiled into his eyes and he watched her, they wandered distracted by each other into his apartment, he watched her face and she grinned at him almost menacingly. She then pushed him lightly onto his bed, pinning him against it by his shoulders and he grabbed her by the elbows pressing lightly to force them to bend, leaning her form closer to him and he kissed her. The kiss in itself seemed to last forever and his mind seemed to disappear, no thoughts, just silence and hints of lust crept its way through him. She closed her eyes, he closed his as well, she then ran her fingers through his hair and lightly gripped it, intensifying the kiss and grinning through it. He pulled her form against him, desiring to feel its warmth, he released the kiss and smiled into her eyes. He then ran his fingers up her arms and then down along her shoulders to her spine, tracing it to the small of her back and with a grin, pulling her form tightly against his own.

"Feeling a bit feisty tonight, Shikamaru, love?" Temari gazed into his eyes, her own eyes grinning at him

"With you, how could I feel anything other than adoration and love?" He grinned, knowing such words turned her on and so easily.

She grinned and giggled at the words, her heart fluttered a moment and she plunged her lips against his, her fingers gripping his scalp lightly. She then traced them down towards his neck, then to his back, gripping it lightly with her nails without scratching or breaking skin. She kissed along his chin to his neck, nibbling a bit and then sinking her teeth into his neck, without breaking his skin or anything, just taunting and teasing him with sensuality. He pressed him fingers against her back, pulling them up her spine, then down again, massaging her. He then arched his neck back and to the side, enjoying the biting and nibbling, as well as the feeling of her teeth and tongue against his flesh. She nibbled lightly again and then licked his cheek teasingly, she sunk her teeth into his flesh once more with a smirk, she knew how much he loved it when she did this and it made her laugh that it did.

He watched her with a smile, he runs his hand up to the top of her back and slowly unzips her dress, pressing it along her shoulders and off her chest. She grinned, unzipping and removing his Jounin vest, then slides her dress off over her legs. He smirks and grabs her lightly by the elbows, swapping their places, now pinning her to the bed, he then removed his shirt. She ran her fingers down his chest, along his scars, she smiled at the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers. He watched her a moment, smiling down at her bare form before him, then after a few moment of watching her breathe, he removed his pants and leg bandages. He leaned down and began to nibble along her neck, following her chin to her lips, kissing her passionately. As he did so he entered her, slow and gentle, she wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back lightly and tracing her fingers along his scars.

He continued to hold the kiss, his hair falling against his cheeks, as well as hers as he continued in a steady flow of entrance. He pressed the fingers of his left hand against her cheek, his eyes smiling into hers, while her other hand traced her bare form. He released the kiss and she closed her eyes lightly, nipping her lip a bit, leaning her head back and arching her neck. She smirked through it, it was not the first time they'd done such a thing, not at all, she was used to his mannerisms and behaviors. He was gentle with her, he respected her and never abused their love, she loved this about him and she was glad that he was her first. She throughout, had let out a few breathy moans and he grinned, having had moan once or twice himself in response. It was the same for him, he'd thought of such things with girls prior, but the first to understand him had been Temari, not even Ino quite understood him this way. He traced his left hand down her form, caressing her breast as it passed and then pressing with both hands lightly against her hips, he continued passing in and out of her. Such play continued for another hour or so into the night as the room became hot and heavy, as well as until the couldn't continue and they sat up in his bed. Both drenched in sweat and steaming with love.

He took in a deep breath and reached into the drawer of his beside table, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and popped on between his lips. She giggled and offered him her lighter, she only had it cause he smoked, though she didn't like it much and had long blamed Asuma for teaching Shikamaru such a habit. He nodded, closing his eye and taking a long drag of his cigarette and heaving it out, completely relaxed. He watched as she rested her now sheet-wrapped body against his chest and smiled down at her, taking another drag off his cigarette.

"Again, in a little while, love?" She closed her eyes and smiled, listening to her breathing.

"Of course, however many you'd like, darling, I'm here to please you and only you." He stroked her hair, wrapping his arm about her, he took another drag.

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"So, how've you been, Kanky?" Misa smiled to him, tracing his kabuki paint without smudging it at all.

"Just fine, and what about you...?" He watched her with a grin, running his fingers through her long dark hair, tucking it behind her ear.

"Other than a slightly sore body from the last mission, I'm fine!" She smiled, but he knew her well enough to know that she was probably gritting her teeth through it like she always did.

He frowned lightly, tracing his eyes over her expression, he worried about her a lot when she was on missions, of any kind. He hated seeing her in any pain, just like Gaara hated to see Kira hurt, though they did have an awkward brotherly love, they were much alike in how they treated their women. Even though Misa was normally out on missions with Kira or Hateru, sometimes both, he still worried intensely for her well-being and her health. She rarely complained, even when it got bad, and she was a little bit on the clumy side, well a lot on the clumsy side, it bothered him a bit but he never mentioned it to her. He smiled still, watching her carefully, caressing her cheeks and her hair.

"I worry about you sometimes, Misa... You always hide when your hurt..." He frowned lightly again, hugging her lightly, spying the goofy smile on Gaara's face as Kira ruffled his hair.

"Gaara-sama, you constantly have sex hair." Kira said as straight-faced as she could, but she could barely hold it.

"Well..." He grinned, leaning toward her, wrapping his arms about her waist pulling her close, he whispered,"Cause I always have you on my mind."

She wiggled back a bit to smile into his eyes, reaching her hair up to ruffle his hair a bit more, she giggled a bit. He fiddle with the ends of her long dark tresses, smiling back into her eyes as he kissed her deeply, she squealed lightly with joy and wrapped her arms about him. She closed her eyes, melting into his arms, the squealing fading into the romance of the moment which seemed to last forever. For Gaara, Kira had been the best thing to happen to him, the first person he truly considered precious to him and the one thing that kept him in motion. She was also one of the few girls he'd met who was not scared to confront or come near him for that matter, as well as be approved by his siblings. Which strangely enough, began to matter to him.

Misa and Kankurou watched the never-ending kiss with grins and giggles, as well as a couple mocking whistles. Those had been from Kankurou, he loved to tease Gaara about his affection and in his words 'dorky' love of and for Kira. Misa was just happy that the two had found each other, she worried constantly about both Kira and Hateru finding happiness, she was a big worrier really. She worried about things that were huge and things that were quite miniscule, all of the people who knew her well, knew this fact. She watched the two smiling, she stood and leaned her back against the wall of the Ichiraku stand, still watching with quite a large smile. Kankurou stood from his seat at as well, facing Misa, pressing his hand to the wall, grinning at her and she giggled. He wrapped his other hand around her waist, pulling her close, kissing her and smearing a tiny bit of his kabuki paint against her slightly rosed lips.

The owner of the little shop sighed, it was getting late and the two couples were still quite intent on sucking each others' faces. He looked to Ayame, his daughter, and she nodded, she'd wait till the couples cleared out and would close up the shop. She giggled lightly, watching dazedly as the couples kissed endlessly and whispered sweet nothings to one another, she wished such things could happen for her. But alas, she found no one for her own, she waved to the couples as they departed and closed the shop doors.

"Have a good night, all of you." Ayame yelled out to them as she waved, they all smiled and giggled, knowing what would commence that night.


	4. You Turn The Screws

Author's Note: No sex quite yet, there is a subtle his to it happening and it's clear that it happened over night between Sasuke & Naruto (poor Shino-kun), but as you all noticed I added 'some language' to the description, the language will pick up, so if you don't like potty mouths, don't continue after this point, same goes for the sex. Don't like yaoi? Then don't even read this chapter.

**Chapter Four: You Turn the Screws**

"How'd you get yourself so worn out, Hateru-kun?" asked Hinata in her normal quiet voice, looking him over lightly, he wasn't looking peachy, frankly.

"I'm fine, we got in a bit of a fix, but this turned out fine, Hinata-san!" He said cheerfully to her, but she could see right through it of course. He mumbled something to himself that was about the Byakugan and it's abilities and she giggled light-heartedly over it.

He cocked a brow at her, sadly knowing the purpose of her giggles, he smiled and stood up from her supporting shoulder. They were just about to his apartment and he wanted to change and clean up a little bit before Neji came to visit him. He hugged her lightly and delicately, then smiled and waved to her before staggering up to his apartment. He passed his longtime neighbor the way, Kiba, who was most likely off to see Hinata, the two'd been dating for a number of years now. Some pegged her to be with Shino, but those who knew her well, knew it was most likely to be Kiba as Naruto was occupied with Sasuke. Which in itself had been a shock to a number of them. He smiled shoving his key into the door and pressing her open, then heel-kicking it shut out of habit, then he kicked off his shoes and yawned lightly. He slumped his slender form in one of his chairs a moment, heaving a sigh of utter relief prior to sliding off his Chuunin vest and stretching his mednin shirt over her head and off of his torso. He stood a moment, walking into his bathroom and turning on the shower to let it warm up as he headed to the kitchen to have a few pre-shower munchies.

He let out a sigh and munched down a couple sticks of chocolate doused pocky, he closed his eyes. He was glad to be home, and with that he felt two warms arm wrap about his waist and chin rest up his somewhat broad shoulder. He rotated his neck, to his astonishment...it was Neji... But when had he come in and how? And wait just a darn minute, when did he get back from his mission? Such thoughts spun through his mind until Neji pressed and rotated his own he head, leaning up and planting a deeply passionate kiss on Hateru's astonished lips. He closed his eyes, locked in the kiss and the embrace of the one person he'd truly cared for and desired to see after a long, brain diminishing mission. Neji rose a hand to caress through Hateru's hair, then along his cheek, breaking the kiss away, his white eyes watching the rapturous expression on his lover's face with a light snicker.

"How was your mission, Hateru-kun?" Neji's deep, smooth voice had an almost the most sexy husk to it at the moment.

Hateru could hardly spit out a sentence, so all Neji received was a low, pleasure 'mmm' from his lover's lightly pursed lips and almost dorky lovestruck expression. He loved this about him, he was almost too cute, it was one of this the things that kept his mind from wandering when he himself had a long or hard mission. He smiled to himself, pulling away just enough to trace his fingers along Hateru's spine, this being a slight weakness for the man, a cute one at that.

He recalled how they met, repeatedly in his mind because he was the best thing to happen to him other than the revelation that Naruto had given him. Hateru's older brother had been one of the medical ninjas to help heal him after the chase for Sasuke-kun and he met Hateru when thanking the Makuniri clan for their aid. The boy had watched him all through the academy years, he recalled this yes, but he never considered it to mean anything in particular. He smiled recalling the dinner that Hateru had made him that night, that mission, it was his first after the Sasuke retrieval and it was with Hateru's team. The other girls rolled their eyes at Hateru, of cour they'd known of his crush on Neji for ages, even their sensei Kyoko knew of it, but that's because it was painfully obvious. At that point, Neji knew himself enough to know he couldn't see it and why he couldn't see it. He was still at that point, blind.

"Let's get you cleaned up and relaxed, then we'll have diner..." Neji whispered lightly into Hateru's ear, guiding the boy back toward the bathroom, where a light steam was finding its way out the doorway. He thanked his lucky stars that Hateru had come into his life, he was unsure what would have become of him if he hadn't met Hateru.

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"Naruto, we have got to get back tomorrow morning." Shino said flatly to the two lovebirds who were, as Shino liked to put it pleasantly 'sucking one another's faces off'.

"Oi, oi, Shino, a few more minutes..." Naruto waved it off like it'd been a non-time consuming recreational activity to play tonsel hockey with Sasuke.

Shino sighed and quirked an angry eyebrow, he hated being on missions with these two because this is how it always... and he did mean ALWAYS, as it turned this way as soon at the mission's tasks were done. The two would settle down and suck each other's faces off, sometimes it appeared to him as though they were molesting one another. He kicked a pebble away in the opposite direction, these 'few minutes' had repeatedly been requested about 5 times prior and during the past two or three hours. The night time was drawing quite near and he knew at such point, that they'd have to pitch a tent... Well his would be separate as his companions would be having, as Kiba had put it once, 'wild and vicious mansex'. He adjust his sunglasses a moment and stood at the edge of the hill and watched at the sun disappeared behind the mountain and slowly a glorious blue painted the sky. He turned to view his companions and practically had a nosebleed.

To his, well not necessarily dismay, the two were now entangled in a mass of steaming kisses. Sasuke's hand was pressing up Naruto's shirt and Naruto's hand was tracing it's way beneath the dark-haired boys pants with a slight, but clearly naughty giggle. The blonde-haired boy was tracing his other hand through the other boy's hair, while muffled and pleasured huffs came from the locked lips of the two. Shino tried to look away for a period, but just couldn't and then he slapped himself mentally for enjoying such an occurence. He took in a very deep breath and sighed deeply, he then cleaned up the little stream of blood that had decided to leak from his left nostril from the sadly, impure thoughts coursing through his mind when he saw that.

The two men continued to entertain one another's body well into the evening, as such things continued the angry tick on Shino's eyebrow. He was unsure if it was jealousy or anger, really. It was confusing to him really, he even got this way whenever he saw Kiba with Hinata or even Shikamaru with Temari. He hadn't dated much in his Genin days, though after he became Chuunin there was a girl who was quite insistent on meeting him in a number of ways, he still didn't know and prefered to leave it at for the current time. She was nice though and he enjoyed her company, her name was Kurika and she was a great kunoichi who'd become a Chuunin just a year ahead of himself. She wasn't like most of the other girls in Konoha who shuddered at the thought of even befriending an Aburame, let alone get close enough emotionally to date one and she appeared unphased by it. In actuality, she appeared to love bugs as much as he did, she loved to go collect bugs with him and though she would watch him for most of the journey, she'd still observe the many specimens of bug along the way. His mind peacefully drifted off into happy thoughts of her, though as soon as slumber seemed to greet, as did the new day and he heaved a great and somewhat disgruntled sigh as he rose back up from his tent.

He flicked a few pebbles at the foreheads of his companions, who were currently sprawled atop one another in a strange manner. The first to wake was a groggy Sasuke, who giggle at Naruto's position, awakening the blonde from his slumber. Sasuke pressed his fingers through Naruto's golden locks with a smile, as the blonde groggily rubbed his eyes and yawned. Naruto was just far too cute, thats what swam through Sasuke's mind as he watched his lover awaken. Then he looked to Shino who was shaking his head, while gathering up their equipment which was strewn about the ground and Sasuke stood to help him, leaving Naruto to attempt waking up on his own. As Shino an Sasuke gathered their things, Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned several times prior to finally waking himself fully and aiding the duo in getting ready to head back to Konoha.

"Sorry about last night, Shino..." Sasuke smiled lightly and rubbed the hack of his head, a bit nervously.

"Eh, it's all good, let's just get back to the village, so we can all get our days off!" Shino nodded and spoke in what some might consider a cheerful tone, for him at least.


	5. Remember The Name

Author's Note: Yeah yeah, it's been all full of love and stuff for the past four chapters... Where is the action? (Not the current type in the story, the type in like action films and stuff! xD) It begins in this chapter folks and a new character is introduced, a wonderful potty-mouth and fiend of the sake variety, Ruri Hakaitsu!

**Chapter Five: Remember The Name**

A girl sat at the bar fiddling with the small mug of sake before her, humming songs she could hardly remember the names of and her black eyes staring into the liquid within blankly before lifting it to her lips and gulping it in a quick shot. She pressed her vibrant purple hair behind her ear, it came to about her shoulders, it used to be longer but she'd cut it ages ago having gotten frustrated with the maintenance of it. She heaved a sigh and poured herself another glass prior to noticing that someone was taping her shoulder, at that she turned with another mug-full of sake at her lips. Seeing who it was, she practically spewed it across the room, the woman before her dodged it and smiled nervously at her.

"Why hello, Ruri-san!" The dark-haired woman said with nervous laughter, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oi, Shizune-chan, you startled me..." Ruri said, in a slightly drunken manner, then after a moment her eyes bugged out and she realized why Shizune had come,"Oh no no no! Not a mission... Oi, it's late, please Shizune-chan, don't make me go... I like my sake!"

Shizune smiled lightly to the girl with the crazy and vibrant hue of purple for hair, and nodded. The Godaime Hokage requested that she find Ruri Hakaitsu and order her presence in the Hokage's office immediately, it was a late-night mission, but Ruri was to be the mission's head. She was up-to-par with Shikamaru Nara when it came to strategizing and analyzing, but he was busy, and the Hokage needed someone just as good as he was with such things. Shizune sighed at Ruri's pleading black eyes, it was clear the girl liked her day off, but this was an important mission and it needed to be done quickly and thoroughly, which is why the Hokage had chosen Kyoko Masuda's former team for the ones to accompany Ruri for this mission.

"I'm sorry, Ruri, but you have to... Hokage-sama desires me to bring you back with me to her office so she can relay the mission to you." Shizune smiled again, trying to put some ounce of cheer in Ruri's face.

"Agh! The sake, Shizune-neechan! The sake, goddamnit! There are only so many nights that I can get shitfaced..." Ruri sulked and nodded sadly to Shizune, gulping the last bit of her sake and placing the money on the bar, nodding to the tender with a heavy and angered sigh.

The two wandered out of the bar and followed Konoha's darkened streets for what seemed to Ruri, to be forever and a half. _What the fuck? _She thought to herself quite angrily. _Am I the only available fucking Jounin tonight or some shit? I don't want a mission right now, I want to be so shitfaced I don't know where I am! _She crossed he arms behind her head as she walked on, staring up at the darkened sky, lit by only a few stars as it wasn't completely pitch black yet. Soon the Hokage sign came into view, then she and Shizune continued into the office and she took a set before the desk. The seated person swivelled the chair to face her, a blonde and beautiful woman who looked to be 25, maybe 30, let her head lean on one hand, the elbow placed on the desk. _I would have never pegged her to be over fucking 50 year old_. Ruri blinked, thinking in her mind about the Hokage's appearance.

"Shizune-san, you've told her that I called her for a mission, ne?" The blonde woman spoke, still staring at Ruri.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Shizune nodded and stepped off to the side.

"Ruri Hakaitsu, skilled Jounin, genius strategist and analyst, extraordinary fighter and utilizer of supplies and team members' abilities." Tsunade looked at Ruri's file, impressed,"Also a potty-mouth and a bit too much of a fan of sake, ne?"

"Sake is a wonderful thing, Hokage-sama," Ruri giggled lightly and smiled to Tsunade.

"Oi, Ruri, I would like you to go to Yukigakure to retrieve a few scrolls from the old Imperial Museum currator there..." She paused, noting the confusion on Ruri's face,"You will need a three-man cell, as there may be this that pose a problem, I will let you head Kyoko Masuda's old cell."

"Hokage-sama! I have no issue with them... but honestly, must it be Yukigakure? The paths there are pretty dangerous right now!" Ruri looked more concerned than anything else.

"Your chosen team can take it on very well! Hateru Makuniri is a fine medical ninja and the other two are aces with defense and weaponry! Misa Nakamura is great with tracking and Kira Kurosaki is one of the best we have in terms foresight, she can see an ambush from miles away." Tsunade stated firmly, her eyes narrowing a moment.

"I sent Raidou, Aoba and Genma to get the other three, they should be here any moment now." Shizune added, then bowed her head to let Tsunade finish.

"You are to stop in Amegakure, they have a scroll we are in need of as well, these scrolls are crucial!" Tsunade emphasized that last word,"I am trusting you and the others... One thing, in Amegakure, it is said there might be a team of Otogakure shinobi, so be careful!"

The doors to the office opened, as the three aforementioned ninja walked in, Misa's face had a sour look and Kira was yawning. Hateru had a fading smile and his hair was a bit wet, but all three were still in their Jounin garb. Misa leaned against the backwall, still pouting, while the other two joined Ruri in sitting before the Hokage's desk. Tsunade sighed at the look on Misa's face, but what she had next to say perked her interest, and she knew it would. As it involved one of Misa's older mission, from a month or so ago.

"As I said, Ruri, there will be a Otogakure team, most likely led by a Kyari Sanako," Tsunade finished, looking to Misa,"You met her not to long ago, I read it in one of your mission reports."

"Yeah, she was a decent fighter... But honestly, I was... busy, shall we say..." Misa huffed, sighing angrily.

"Just cause you and Kitty were doing the nasty doesn't make this mission any less fucking important, Misa..." Ruri grinned menacingly at Misa, who returned the statement with ice-cold eye daggers.

"Misa-san, we all know what you and Kankurou-kun do most nights, it's not news..." Hateru smiled light-heartedly to her, ruffling his wet hair, hoping to dry it a little.

"Ha! Most nights? How about every night!" Kira scoffed at Hateru's words and both he and Ruri snickered.

"Like you've got room, Kira-sama! You think being my neighbored apartment, I can't hear you and Gaara-kun?" Misa eyed her, still pouting, then she looked to Hateru,"And you, missy, you and Neji do it how many times a day, hmmm?"

"That's enough, I do not need the rundown of my village's ninja sex lives, thank you," Tsunade sighed and leaned back in her chair,"Just get to Amegakure! Ruri will relay the details when you all meet at the front gate for departure. Now go get ready!"

The four strolled out of the office and Tsunade heaved a great sigh, those four had given her a slight headache with their little bickering session. Ruri placed her arms crossed behind her head, watching the other three split off towards their places. Both Misa and Kira the same direction, as they live next door to one another and Hateru headed towards the Hyuuga District. She simply headed straight to the center oh Konoha, her apartment was near to the shopping district and the 3 sake bars, in her opinion is was choice settling for her. Having all of Konoha's sake bars as her neighbors, she felt she'd be fine no matter what were to happen in Konoha, as long as those still stood. And her friends stayed safe. She stepped into her aparted and locked the door, following that she gather all possible supplies needed and cleaned herself up, popping a mint in her mouth to relieve the scent of sake leaking from her.

She smiled to herself and decided she was completely ready to go, grabbing her bag and stepping out of her apartment. She locked her door and trotted down the stairs and out the front, she headed off to Konoha's front gate. Where she would then await her team and they'd be off to Amegakure to start this fucking mission. She tried to bite through, she didn't want to fucking do it, but whatever... She had to!


End file.
